Atos 2

ARC · Chapter 2/28

1E, cumprindo-se o dia de Pentecostes, estavam todos concordemente reunidos.

2E de repente veiu do céu um som, como de um vento vehemente e impetuoso, e encheu toda a casa em que estavam assentados.

3E foram vistas por elles linguas repartidas, como que de fogo, e pousaram sobre cada um d'elles.

4E todos foram cheios do Espirito Sancto, e começaram a fallar n'outras linguas, conforme o Espirito Sancto lhes concedia que fallassem.

5E em Jerusalem estavam habitando judeos, varões religiosos, de todas as nações que estão debaixo do céu

6E, correndo aquella voz, ajuntou-se a multidão, e estava confusa, porque cada um os ouvia fallar na sua propria lingua.

7E todos pasmavam e se maravilhavam, dizendo uns aos outros: Pois que! não são galileos todos esses homens que estão fallando?

8Como pois os ouvimos, cada um, na nossa propria lingua em que somos nascidos?

9Parthos e medas, elamitas e os que habitam na Mesopotamia, e Judea, e Cappadocia, Ponto e Asia,

10E Phrygia e Pamphylia, Egypto e partes da Lybia, junto a Cyrene, e forasteiros romanos, tanto judeos como proselytos.

11Cretenses e arabes, ouvimos todos em nossas proprias linguas fallar das grandezas de Deus.

12E todos se maravilhavam e estavam suspensos, dizendo uns para os outros: Que quer isto dizer?

13E outros, zombando, diziam: Estão cheios de mosto.

14Porém Pedro, pondo-se em pé com os onze, levantou a sua voz, e disse-lhes: Varões judeos, e todos os que habitaes em Jerusalem, seja-vos isto conhecido, e escutae as minhas palavras;

15Estes homens não estão embriagados, como vós pensaes, sendo a terceira hora do dia.

16Mas isto é o que foi dito pelo propheta Joel:

17E nos ultimos dias acontecerá, diz Deus, que do meu Espirito derramarei sobre toda a carne; e os vossos filhos e as vossas filhas prophetizarão, os vossos mancebos terão visões, e os vossos velhos sonharão sonhos;

18E tambem do meu Espirito derramarei sobre os meus servos e as minhas servas n'aquelles dias, e prophetizarão;

19E farei apparecer prodigios nas alturas, no céu; e signaes em baixo na terra, sangue, fogo e vapor de fumo:

20O sol se converterá em trevas, e a lua em sangue, antes de chegar o grande e illustre dia do Senhor;

21E acontecerá que todo aquelle que invocar o nome do Senhor será salvo.

22Varões israelitas, escutae estas palavras: A Jesus Nazareno, varão approvado por Deus entre vós com maravilhas, prodigios e signaes, que Deus por elle fez no meio de vós, como vós mesmos bem sabeis:

23A este, sendo entregue pelo determinado conselho e presciencia de Deus, tomando-o vós, o crucificastes e matastes pelas mãos de injustos:

24Ao qual Deus resuscitou, soltas as dôres da morte, pois não era possivel que fosse retido por ella;

25Porque d'elle disse David: Sempre via diante de mim ao Senhor, porque está á minha direita, para que eu não seja commovido:

26Por isso se alegrou o meu coração, e a minha lingua exultou; e ainda a minha carne ha de repousar em esperança;

27Pois não deixarás a minha alma no inferno, nem permittirás que o teu Sancto veja a corrupção:

28Fizeste-me conhecidos os caminhos da vida; com a tua face me encherás de jubilo.

29Varões irmãos, seja-me licito dizer-vos livremente ácerca do patriarcha David, que elle morreu e foi sepultado, e entre nós está até hoje a sua sepultura.

30Sendo pois elle propheta, e sabendo que Deus lhe havia promettido com juramento que do fructo de seus lombos, segundo a carne, levantaria o Christo, para o assentar sobre o seu throno,

31Prevendo isto, fallou da resurreição de Christo, dizendo que a sua alma não foi deixada no inferno, nem a sua carne viu a corrupção.

32Deus resuscitou a este Jesus, do que todos nós somos testemunhas.

33De sorte que, exaltado já pela dextra de Deus, e recebendo do Pae a promessa do Espirito Sancto, derramou isto que vós agora vêdes e ouvis.

34Porque David não subiu aos céus, mas diz: Disse o Senhor ao meu Senhor: Assenta-te á minha direita,

35Até que ponha os teus inimigos por escabello de teus pés.

36Saiba pois com certeza toda a casa d'Israel que a esse Jesus, a quem vós crucificastes, Deus o fez Senhor e Christo.

37E, ouvindo elles estas coisas, compungiram-se em seu coração, e disseram a Pedro e aos demais apostolos: Que faremos, varões irmãos?

38E disse-lhes Pedro: Arrependei-vos, e cada um de vós seja baptizado em nome de Jesus Christo, para perdão dos peccados; e recebereis o dom do Espirito Sancto;

39Porque a promessa vos pertence, a vós, a vossos filhos, e a todos os que estão longe: a tantos quantos Deus nosso Senhor chamar.

40E com muitas outras palavras testificava e os exhortava, dizendo: Salvae-vos d'esta geração perversa.

41De sorte que foram baptizados os que de bom grado receberam a sua palavra; e n'aquelle dia ajuntaram-se á egreja quasi tres mil almas;

42E perseveravam na doutrina dos apostolos, e na communhão, e no partir do pão e nas orações.

43E em toda a alma havia temor, e muitas maravilhas e signaes se faziam pelos apostolos.

44E todos os que criam estavam juntos, e tinham tudo em commum.

45E vendiam suas propriedades e fazendas, e repartiam com todos, segundo cada um havia de mister.

46E, perseverando unanimes todos os dias no templo, e repartindo o pão de casa em casa, comiam juntos com alegria e singeleza de coração,

47Louvando a Deus, e tendo graça para com todo o povo. E todos os dias accrescentava o Senhor á egreja aquelles que se haviam de salvar.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descends on the disciples with the sound of wind and tongues of fire, and they speak in other languages. Peter preaches, and about three thousand people are converted and baptized.

Explanation

Pentecost was a Jewish harvest festival, fifty days after Passover, which already gathered Jews from many nations in Jerusalem — which explains the international crowd present. The miracle of tongues symbolizes the reversal of Babel: instead of confusing languages, God now uses languages to unite peoples around the gospel. The description of the early church — prayers, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and generosity — has become a practical model of Christian community to this day: living with openness and genuine care for others.

Fun facts

  • 'Pentecost' comes from the Greek word for 'fiftieth (day)' and corresponds to the Jewish feast of Shavuot, which celebrated the wheat harvest and, in later rabbinic tradition, also the giving of the Law to Moses at Sinai.
  • The list of nations in Acts 2 (Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and others) covers practically the entire known world of the time, from the Roman Empire to Persia — a literary sign that the gospel truly was meant for 'every nation.'

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Atos 2:1“Pentecost” was a Jewish feast celebrated fifty days after Passover, also called the Feast of Weeks, originally linked to the wheat harvest. That is why Jerusalem was full of Jews who had come from elsewhere for the date.
  2. Atos 2:2The sound “as of a rushing mighty wind” filling the house is a sensory sign marking the arrival of the Holy Spirit, not an actual storm. Wind is a common image in the Bible for speaking about the Spirit.
  3. Atos 2:3The “cloven tongues like as of fire” resting on each one show that the Holy Spirit came upon everyone individually, not just upon the group as a whole.
  4. Atos 2:4Given the following context, in which each listener understands in their own language, this refers to real human languages the disciples had not learned, not an incomprehensible utterance. It is a phenomenon similar to, but not necessarily identical with, what appears later in other New Testament letters.
  5. Atos 2:5At the time of the feast, Jerusalem was full of Jews who had come to live or visit from many parts of the known world, people of the diaspora who kept a religious tie to the city even though they had lived away from it for generations.
  6. Atos 2:6The crowd gathers in confusion because each person hears the disciples speaking in their own native language, even though no one had taught them those languages.
  7. Atos 2:7The listeners are amazed because the disciples were clearly Galileans, a region seen as simpler and more provincial, with no reputation for people trained in several foreign languages.
  8. Atos 2:8The question reinforces that this was not some strange or garbled sound: each listener clearly recognized their own native language coming out of the disciples’ mouths.
  9. Atos 2:9The list of peoples that begins here, from Parthians to Arabians, covers practically the whole known world of the time, from the Parthian Empire to Rome. The point is to show that Jews from every part of the diaspora were gathered there at that moment.
  10. Atos 2:10The list of peoples continues with Phrygia and Pamphylia, regions of Asia Minor, Egypt, parts of Libya near Cyrene, plus visitors from Rome, both Jews by birth and proselytes, Gentiles converted to Judaism.
  11. Atos 2:11Cretans and Arabians close out this list of nationalities. Luke’s point is to show that people from practically every corner of the empire heard, each in their own language, the declaration of the wonderful works of God.
  12. Atos 2:12The general reaction is one of amazement and confusion: people could not explain what was happening and kept asking one another what it meant.
  13. Atos 2:13“New wine” is unfermented or freshly fermenting wine. It was the explanation part of the crowd gave for the disciples’ unusual behavior, claiming they were drunk.
  14. Atos 2:14Peter stands up alongside the other eleven apostles to give a public explanation for the commotion, formally addressing all the Jews gathered in Jerusalem at that moment.
  15. Atos 2:15Jews counted the hours starting from sunrise, around 6 a.m. The third hour Peter mentions is about 9 in the morning, far too early for anyone to already be drunk, as he himself argues.
  16. Atos 2:16Peter announces that he is about to quote the prophet Joel, from the Old Testament, to explain what the crowd was seeing: this was not drunkenness, it was the fulfillment of an ancient promise.
  17. Atos 2:17Peter quotes Joel, saying that “in the last days” God would pour out His Spirit on all people, without distinction of age or gender: sons, daughters, young men, and old men would all have some spiritual experience.
  18. Atos 2:18Joel’s quotation goes on to include even menservants and maidservants, that is, slaves, among those who would receive the Spirit and prophesy. The promise did not respect social barriers either.
  19. Atos 2:19The images of blood, fire, and smoke come from the apocalyptic language common among Old Testament prophets for describing great interventions of God in history, not literal phenomena predicted for that particular day.
  20. Atos 2:20Peter is quoting the prophet Joel when he speaks of the sun and moon being darkened. This language was common among Old Testament prophets for describing great interventions of God in history, not a literal astronomical prediction.
  21. Atos 2:21This is the climax of the quotation from Joel: the promise that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved, excluding no one on account of origin or standing.
  22. Atos 2:22Peter changes his tone and addresses the “men of Israel” directly, reminding the listeners that they themselves had seen or heard about the miracles Jesus of Nazareth had done among them.
  23. Atos 2:23Peter states that Jesus’ death did not escape God’s control, but he still holds the listeners responsible for the crucifixion, even though it was the Romans who carried out the execution.
  24. Atos 2:24The resurrection is described as God loosing Jesus from the “pains of death,” an expression that treats death almost like a prison from which He could not be held.
  25. Atos 2:25Peter quotes a psalm attributed to David, read as a prophetic reference to someone who would have God always at his right hand, unshaken—applied here to Jesus.
  26. Atos 2:26A continuation of the same psalm, expressing joy and hope even in the face of death, something Peter interprets as words pointing beyond David’s own experience.
  27. Atos 2:27The central part of the quotation: the promise that the soul would not be left in the afterlife, nor would the body see corruption—something Peter argues was not literally fulfilled in David, who died and decayed like anyone else.
  28. Atos 2:28The quotation from the psalm closes speaking of the ways of life and joy in God’s presence, verses Peter goes on to use to point to Jesus’ resurrection.
  29. Atos 2:29Peter interrupts the quotation to make a direct observation: everyone knew where David’s tomb was in Jerusalem, proof that he remained dead and buried, contrary to what the psalm seemed to suggest.
  30. Atos 2:30As a prophet, David knew of God’s promise that one of his descendants would occupy his throne forever; Peter uses this to argue that the psalm was actually a prediction about this future descendant.
  31. Atos 2:31Peter concludes that David, in writing that psalm, was actually foreseeing the resurrection of the Messiah, since the words did not apply literally to David’s own life and death.
  32. Atos 2:32Peter states this directly: Jesus rose again, and he, together with the other apostles, are eyewitnesses of it—they are not repeating a secondhand story.
  33. Atos 2:33Peter links Jesus’ resurrection, His exaltation at God’s side, and the gift of the Holy Spirit received from the Father as the direct explanation for the phenomenon of tongues the crowd was seeing and hearing at that moment.
  34. Atos 2:34Peter stresses that the psalm cannot be about David, since David never ascended into the heavens; instead, he quotes another psalm in which David speaks of “another Lord” seated at God’s right hand.
  35. Atos 2:35The quotation continues: this “Lord” would remain seated until His enemies were made His footstool—an ancient image of complete victory over adversaries.
  36. Atos 2:36Peter reaches the conclusion of his speech: the same Jesus the listeners helped crucify was made by God both Lord and Christ (Messiah), becoming the central point of everything he had argued before.
  37. Atos 2:37The crowd’s reaction is one of deep shock, described as feeling “pricked in their heart”; instead of defending themselves, they ask Peter and the other apostles what they should do now.
  38. Atos 2:38Peter’s answer has three parts: repentance, baptism in the name of Jesus, and receiving the Holy Spirit as a result—the basic package of what he was preaching.
  39. Atos 2:39Peter makes clear that the promise was not only for those present that day, but also for their children and for “all that are afar off,” an opening that would later come to include the Gentiles.
  40. Atos 2:40Luke sums up that Peter said much more than what was recorded, repeatedly urging people to save themselves from that generation, understood as corrupted for rejecting the Messiah.
  41. Atos 2:41The immediate result of the preaching is enormous: about three thousand people are baptized in a single day, extremely fast growth for a community that until then fit inside one room.
  42. Atos 2:42This verse describes the four pillars of the newborn church’s life: the apostles’ teaching, fellowship among the members, the shared meal (“breaking of bread”), and prayers together.
  43. Atos 2:43The “fear” that comes upon everyone is not ordinary fright, but a reverence mixed with awe at the wonders the apostles kept performing after Pentecost.
  44. Atos 2:44“Had all things common” describes a voluntary practice among the first Christians of Jerusalem, driven by the spirit of that particular moment, not a permanent rule the church would keep afterward.
  45. Atos 2:45Selling possessions and sharing with everyone was a voluntary practice of the first Christians of Jerusalem, driven by the spirit of the moment, not a rule imposed forever. This kind of communal life appears only in this specific community in the book of Acts.
  46. Atos 2:46The first Christians still attended the temple regularly, like any devout Jew, and complemented that with meals in private homes, showing that at first they did not see themselves as a group separate from Judaism.
  47. Atos 2:47The community’s growth is described as something constant and done by God—“the Lord added to the church daily”—not the result of a human recruitment strategy.

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